| | | | |  | | By Arianna Skibell | Presented by Chevron | | 
A worker installs solar panels in Pomona, California. | Mario Tama/Getty Images | The Biden administration is gearing up to distribute billions of dollars to help disadvantaged communities lower energy costs and pollution by installing solar panels. The Environmental Protection Agency will announce the recipients of the $7 billion Solar for All program next week, writes Jean Chemnick. That’s according to three people with first-hand knowledge of the announcement who are not authorized to speak publicly about it. The funding is part of a larger pot of $27 billion allocated through President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill. It is intended to help communities of color and low-income neighborhoods where industrial facilities release disproportionate amounts of pollution. EPA has previously said it expects the funding to be awarded to 60 grantees, chipping away at the country’s massive energy poverty problem. States, cities, tribes, other government entities and even nonprofits are eligible to compete for the program’s grants. Over a third of households in the U.S. struggle to pay their utility bills. On average, these households owe $300 more in their annual energy bills than energy-secure households. According to a recent University of Houston report, most low-income households spend between 15 and 18 percent of their income on electricity. In 2019, the poorest of the low-income households in the country spent 23 percent of their income to keep the lights on. Any percentage over 6 is considered energy poor. Rooftop solar can help lower a home’s energy bills, but the panels are not cheap — and most low-income families can’t afford them. “If you look at majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, it’s significantly less rooftop solar installed compared to majority white neighborhoods,” Adam Kent with the Natural Resources Defense Council told Jean. “So, this is a program … about delivering the benefits of distributed solar to all communities throughout the country.” The climate law requires EPA to distribute the funds by September. States, cities and other awardees can then use the grants in a variety of ways, from installing rooftop solar to investing in workforce development and project planning.
| | | | It's Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.
| | | | A message from Chevron: Chevron knows methane management is critical for a lower carbon future. We’re striving to lead in methane management with innovative practices, partnerships, and new technologies. These are a few ways we’re aiming to keep methane in the pipe. | | | | | | Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Adam Federman breaks down why the administration might reject a plan to build a mining road in the remote Alaskan wilderness.
| | | | A message from Chevron:   | | | | | | | 
Clockwise: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Liz Murrill, Brad Crabtree, Roishetta Ozane and Michael Sabel. | U.S. Senate, Murrill campaign, DOE, LinkedIn, Venture Global LNG | 5 people to watch in LNG export battle
The energy sector is still reeling from the Energy Department's January decision to pause liquefied natural gas export approvals. Carlos Anchondo breaks down the five people to watch as the DOE's move continues to draw praise from environmental groups and condemnation from the oil and gas sector. Foreign aid package includes Iran oil sanctions
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s national security supplemental legislation released Wednesday includes new sanctions to prevent Iran from selling its oil, write Manuel Quiñones and Andres Picon. The Louisiana Republican released four bills — one to help Ukraine, another to help Israel, a third to address Indo-Pacific security issues and a fourth combining a hodgepodge of issues. Russia leaves Ukraine in the dark
Russia has started inflicting far more permanent damage on Ukraine’s energy system, not only taking out generating stations but also attacking the vast underground gas storage facilities the European Union leaned on last winter to avoid its own energy shortages, write Gabriel Gavin and Victor Jack. Repairing the system could take years, experts say. And without the critical reserves of gas, Europe may be in trouble.
| | Heated: A lethal heat in West Africa is being driven by human-caused climate change. Finance: A leading shareholder advisory firm has rebuked Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway over climate change and governance.
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Wind turbine blades for South Fork Wind, an offshore wind farm, are stored at State Pier in New London, Connecticut, on Dec. 4, 2023. | Seth Wenig/AP | Investments in clean energy in the U.S. reached a record $88 billion in 2023, rebounding from a spike in interest rates that saw banks retreat from the sector in 2022. The U.S. Forest Service scrapped a decade-old proposal to drill for oil and gas in a national forest in California — a win for environmental groups trying to protect endangered condors and trout. House Republicans united to advance a series of measure that would undercut efforts by federal financial regulators to compel companies to account for climate change. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
| | | | POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2024 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO will again be your eyes and ears at the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles from May 5-8 with exclusive, daily, reporting in our Global Playbook newsletter. Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground covering the biggest moments, behind-the-scenes buzz and on-stage insights from global leaders in health, finance, tech, philanthropy and beyond. Get a front-row seat to where the most interesting minds and top global leaders confront the world’s most pressing and complex challenges — subscribe today. | | | | | | | | | A message from Chevron: By 2028, our upstream methane intensity target is set to be 53% below the 2016 baseline. To help us get there, we’ve trialed over 13 advanced methane technologies including satellites, planes, drones, and fixed sensors to help reduce methane emissions intensity. In the Permian, we have deployed real-time autonomous optimizers that continuously monitor facilities and well conditions to help prevent flaring, venting and well shutdowns. Developing new solutions to provide energy that’s affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner, that’s energy in progress. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
